PARIS - A bright moon will outshine the annual Perseids meteor shower, which will peak Saturday with only one-fifth the usual number of shooting stars visible from Earth, astronomers said.

The light from the waxing gibbous moon will spoil stargazers' view in a similar way to that of urban light pollution.

"To be honest, it's not a good year" for the Perseids, said Robert Massey, acting executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society in London.